Freaks of Lawndale
by Skraeling
Summary: There are many interseting characters that walk the halls of Lawndale High, some who look like they could be as anti-popular as Daria. This is the Story of a group of 'Freaks, and their time in Lawndale. Please Note all characters are owned by MTV


Scarlet stood by the front of her new school, too nervous to walk closer, ignored by the students already there, and by those arriving. In front of her a sign proclaimed _Lawndale High School_ and an American flag fluttered slowly in the wind. Clutching the silver ankh around her neck, she stepped closer.  
A blue Lexus pulled up in front of the school doors. Scarlett saw a slim girl with strawberry blonde hair, wearing a revealing pink t-shirt and blue jeans step out of the car. The students around Scarlett started to murmur. "Hi! You're cool. What's your name?" called a brunette with pigtails who wore a blue jacket and brown three quarter pants. "Quinn Morgendorffer." She said. "Cool name." another brunette wearing a green shirt and purple shorts said. "Will you go out with me?" asked a boy with red hair and a grey vest. Scarlett was the only one to notice a short girl with long brown hair and glasses, wearing a bulky green jacket and combat boots get out of the car and sidestep the crowds. Scarlett rubbed her ankh once more before pushing open the doors.

"As you can see, our Lawndale High students take great pride in their school. That's why you'll each be taking a small psychological exam to spot any little clouds on the horizon as you sail the student seas of Lawndale High." The School Principal, Ms Li, said to the small group of students, including Scarlett, Quinn and the girl with the jacket. "S.O.S, girl overboard." Green Jacket said in a monotone voice. The tall girl besides her frowned and moved away. Quin put her hands on her hips. "Nobody told me about any tests." She said loudly. "Don't worry, it's a psychological test, _you're_ automatically exempt." Her sister said. "Oh, all right then." Quinn said. Scarlett grinned in admiration, Quinn may have been too stupid to see the pint of the joke, but she wasn't.

Scarlett settled into the chair at the workstation furthest from the front in the science lab. At the front of the room her teacher Mrs Barch, a bitter middle aged woman, was ranting about how the frogs that they were dissecting were male frogs, because male frogs, like all males, were worthless and unnecessary. "What's she talking about?" asked a low voice from besides her. Scarlett turned in surprise; sitting beside her was a boy from the tour she had endured that morning. He was tall and skinny, with spiky dirty blonde hair and a long neck. He wore a dirt green t-shirt and baggy brown pants, as well as blue sunglasses. "Hi, sorry I didn't realise you were there, um, she's explaining that future generations of frogs won't be harmed by this experiment." She answered. He scratched his head slowly and yawned. "I'm Dewey, but call me Shaggy." He said. "I'm Scarlett." She said shyly. Shaggy reached out and touched her deep red hair. "Fits." "I see what you're doing back there young man, taking advantage of an innocent young woman, I'll teach you not to do that around here!" Mrs Barch screamed. Luckily the bell rang and Shaggy ran from the room.  
Scarlett put her books in her locker. "Hey." A voice called from behind her. Scarlet turned to see a thin, sad looking girl with long blonde hair that obscured the right side of her face. She wore a drab green military jacket, a black t-shirt, patched green pants and black boots. "I'm Jennifer." The girl said. "Scarlett." "Um, do you wanna sit with my friends and me at lunch?" She asked shyly. Scarlett smiled. "Yeah, okay, I don't know anyone else." "That's cool; I'll see you at lunch then." Jennifer walked away along the corridor. Scarlett touched her ankh then turned back to her locker

"Over here!" Jennifer called as Scarlett entered the cafeteria. Leading her past the tables full of jocks and cheerleaders, as well as other popular people, to the opposite end of the hall. Jennifer sat at the end of a bench, next to a boy with spiky blue hair, a purple t-shirt with ripped off sleeves and a chain linking his nose ring and earring. Scarlett sat across from her. "Hey guys! We got a new girl, she's gonna sit with us for a while." Jennifer called.  
Everyone at the table and the next one turned to stare at Scarlett. "Everyone, this is Scarlett, Scarlett, these are my friends." She pointed to the boy next to her. "This is Bob, that's Charlotte." She pointed to a girl with two small buns at the side of her head, making it look like she had animal ears. "Call me Chip." The girl said. Jennifer pointed to a tall, thin Goth with a black bag with a skull emblazoned on the front. "That's Kristen." Kristen smiled at her before going back to her food. Jennifer threw a napkin at a depressed looking boy with blonde hair and a black tee. "That's Connor." Connor didn't even look up. Jennifer swivelled in her chair and pointed to an overweight girl with a pair of headphones around her ears who sat at the next table. "That's Dawn." Jennifer scanned the cafeteria. "I can't see Angel anywhere; she's tall and has a really big 80's hairstyle." Jennifer said. "Like her?" Scarlett asked, pointing to a girl who was walking with Shaggy from her science class.  
"Yeah that's her, but who's that guy?" "Oh, his name is Shaggy; he just started here same as me." "Oh, cool." Jennifer said.  
Scarlett looked over and saw the girl with the jacket sitting alone, three tables down. "I wonder why she's alone." Scarlett said. Bob turned and looked in the direction she was pointing in. "Oh, that chicks in my History class, she's a real brain, think her name is Daria, or Dara or something. Mr DeMartino got angry at her for answering every question right." Scarlett thought for a second. "Can she sit with us?" Chip shook her head. "I've seen her stare down and insult anyone who talked to her today, not sure if we need that sort of chick with us." "It's just that she seems, lonely." Scarlett admitted. Kristen shrugged. "Some girls like to be alone, like Andrea or that art chick Jane.

"DAD, I'M HOME." Scarlett yelled when she opened the door to the apartment they had moved into. "How was your first day of school?" Her father asked as he walked into view. He was a tall, tanned man in his forties with the same deep red hair as Scarlett, wearing jeans and a faded blue shirt. "It was okay, Ms Li seems a little, strange, and I made a few friends." She answered, setting her gray backpack on the table and taking off her black jacket. "That's nice honey, Are they nice?" Her father asked, while digging through the still present moving boxes for papers. "Yeah, they're pretty cool, I um, have homework to do, I'll see you later Dad." Scarlett said, walking into her room. Pushing the moving boxes out of her way she climbed onto her bed and lay back. She thought of her day, and all the interesting people she had met, of Shaggy, of Jennifer, and of Daria, the lonely girl in the green jacket.

The next day Scarlett sat with Jennifer, Shaggy and Dawn in the cafeteria. Kristen and Connor were sitting alone at the table next to them; Bob, Chip and Angel were waiting in line for the food. "So, do you want to come over to my house and watch T.V. after school?" Scarlett asked Jennifer. Jennifer shook her head. "Can't, got self esteem class with O'Neil after." She replied. "Oh." Scarlett said dejectedly, "That must suck." Jennifer laughed. "It's really boring, but it beats my parents trying to get me to do any other after school activity, I tell them the pressure would be too much and my esteem would get lower." Jennifer laughed wickedly. Scarlett turned to Shaggy. "Do you wanna come over and watch T.V. after school?" She asked him shyly. Shaggy shook his head. "I would, But Dr. Mason decided I have low self-esteem as well, I have to take the class to." He said. "Oh." Scarlett said sadly, she looked at Dawn, who was lost in her own world of music, and then at Evan and Kristen, who were holding hands. "That's okay then."

Jennifer walked slowly into Mr. O'Neill's 'Self Esteem' class. Taking her customary seat in the middle row, to the right of the centre, Jennifer looked at her fellow 'esteemsters." Shaggy sat in the back left corner, looking like he was about to go to sleep on the wall. Jennifer shook her head. _You're clueless,_ she thought. Two seats to her right sat a boy with thick glass wearing a T-shirt which depicted some TV character with a large head. In front of her to the left sat Jane, a tall skinny girl wearing a red shirt, grey shorts and black leggings and boots. Jennifer was starting to get impatient, waiting for Mr O'Neill to arrive when the door opened. She blinked rapidly when she saw who entered. Daria looked around for a second before sitting in front of Jane.  
Mr O'Neil entered the room a second later. Checking to make sure everyone was present he hurriedly looked at his class roll. "Everyone seems to be present." He said, more to himself than to them. Sitting on his desk he prepared himself for his speech.  
"Esteem... a teen." He began "They don't really rhyme, do they? The sounds don't quite mesh. And that, in fact, is often the case when it comes to a teen and esteem." Jennifer balled a piece of paper and threw it at the boy across from her, the boy looked at her, but she was staring innocently at Mr O'Neill. "The two just don't seem to go together. But we are here to begin realizing your actuality." Jennifer suppressed a yawn. She saw Daria raise her hand. "And when we do. "He continued without looking at her. "Each and every one of you will be able to stand proudly and proclaim, "I am." Now, before we-""I have a question." Daria said, cutting him off. "I'm sorry, question and answer time is later." He said. "I want to know what realising your actuality _means_?" Daria continued. "It means… He trailed off confused for a few seconds. "Look, just let me get through this part, okay? Then there'll be a video." Mr O'Neil went back to his speech.  
"He doesn't know what it means. He's got the speech memorised." Jane said to Daria." Just enjoy the nice mans soothing voice." "How am I supposed to follow him if he doesn't know what he's saying?" Daria asked. "I'll fill you in later; I've done this course six times." Jane said.

"Scarlett, Phone." Her dad called from the living room. "Thanks Dad." She yelled back. Grabbing the phone of its stand by the hall table, Scarlett pressed it to her ear. "Yeah?" She asked. "Hey Scarlett, it's Jennifer, I just wanted to talk." "Sure Jen, how was self esteem class?" "Great, that Daria chick is in it and she started asking Mr. O'Neil to explain what he was talking about. He fobbed her off and Jane, you haven't met her, she's sort of cool but doesn't hang around with anyone, she was like (imitating a low gravelly voice.) Just sit back and listen to the nice mans soothing voice. It was funny." Scarlett laughed when she heard this." So, what do you actually do in Self-esteem class?" "Nothing." Jennifer said. "We just sit there and listen to Mr O'Neill drone on about how we can feel better about ourselves. I think Shaggy fell asleep." Scarlett grinned. "Almost wish I was there." Scarlett said. "So come tomorrow." Jennifer said cheerfully. "WHAT!" "You heard me, O'Neil won't notice an extra student, and you can keep me n' Shaggy amused." "I'll ask my Dad, but what do I say to let me go to a self esteem class I don't need?" "You think we do? The only one in there with self esteem problems is a geek who like to watch 'The Head', Tell your dad it will help our esteem to have someone in the class with us, we can tell that to O'Neil as well." "Cool, see you later Jen." Scarlett hung up the phone.  
"Hey Dad." Scarlett yelled. ""Yes Honey?" Her father poked his head into the hallway from the laundry room. "This is going to sound kind weird, some of my friends are in a self esteem class after school and I was wondering-" "Which friends are these?" Her father asked sharply. "Um, Jennifer and Shaggy are in it, Jennifer said it might help her with her low self esteem problems if I go to the class with her for a little while." "I don't know if I want you to hang around with people like that Scarlett." Her father said with a worried tone. "There's nothing wrong with my friends, what about if they come over after the class so you can meet them." Scarlett suggested. "I don't know." "Please." Scarlett pleaded. "Oh, alright then." He relented. Scarlett hugged him fiercely. "Thanks' Daddy."

Shaggy met with Scarlett and Jennifer the next morning. "Hey Shagz." Jennifer called. "Hi Shaggy." Scarlett said quietly. "Guess what Shaggy, Scarlett here is gonna come to self esteem class with us, keep us company." "Hey that's cool, thanks Scarlett." Shaggy said slowly. "The only condition is that we have to go to her house and meet her Dad, so we can show him what great friends we, even if we have low self esteem." "Oh, that's okay." Shaggy said in a mellow tone. _I'm gonna meet her Dad, what if he decides I'm a loser whose not good enough for his daughter? _He though franticly. "I need to go get my books for class, I'll see you later."  
"When he was well out of sight of Scarlett and Jennifer Shaggy stoped, then smashed his head against the wall. _I'm screwed_, he thought. "Is something wrong?" A soft low voice asked him. Shaggy turned and saw Dawn. He gapped at her; it was the first time he had heard her speak since meeting her. "Shaggy?" Dawn asked again. Shaggy sighed; it wouldn't matter if he told her. "Can you keep a secret?" He asked. Dawn slid her headphones to around her neck. "I don't talk much, I won't tell anyone." "Scarlett got her dad to give her permission to come to the self esteem class with me and Jen." "So?" Dawn asked confused. "The condition is that we have to go to her house so he can meet us, and decide if he wants his daughter to hang around with us." Dawn thought for a second. "And you're worried he won't like you, and tell Scarlett that she can't be friends with you, and you really like her." "Yeah." Shaggy said mournfully. Dawn shrugged. "Don't worry; I'm sure everything will work out." She put her headphones back on and started to walk off. "That's it?" Shaggy asked in shock. Dawn shrugged again. "I'm the fat girl who doesn't talk to anyone, what would I know about dating?" She disappeared into the crowd as the bell rang.

At lunch Shaggy sat with Angel, Dawn and Chip. Scarlett sat at the next table with Jennifer and Bob, Connor and Kristen had walked out earlier holding hands. "  
"I don't get it, why does Connor always look so sad when he's with Kristen?" Shaggy asked them. Chip snorted. "That's Connor when he's happy; before he met Kristen he looked even more depressed, though he wasn't suicidal." She said. Shaggy tried to picture Connor looking sadder, but quickly banished the image from his mind. His concentration was broken when red hair flashed in his vision. Scarlett was laughing to something Jen had said, her head bobbing up and down, her ankh bouncing on her chest. The bell rang and the friends began to disperse. Shaggy quickly caught up with Scarlett. "Hey, um, Scarlett." She turned to look at him. "I, uh, wanted to apologise for walking off earlier, I just, um, needed some time alone." "That's okay Shaggy, so, I'll see you in Self Esteem class?" Scarlett asked. "Yeah, course." Scarlett walked away from him. Shaggy smiled as he made his way to class.

Jennifer walked into the after school self esteem class and stopped directly in front of Mr. O'Neil's desk. "Would it be okay if my friend Scarlett sat with me during the class today?" She asked politely. Mr O'Neil looked at her dumbly. "Well, I'm not sure if-""Her being with me will help my self esteem." She said. Mr. O'Neill smiled at that. "In that case, sure it's okay." Jennifer turned and motioned at the door. Scarlett walked in, closely followed by Shaggy.  
When the entire class had assembled Mr O'Neill lay back on his desk. "So what are we talking about when we talk about ourselves? Anyone?" He asked. "Gee, I wonder what." Scarlett said sarcastically from the back corner. Jennifer and Shaggy grinned. The boy with 'the Head' shirt raised his hand nervously. "Yes?" Mr O'Neill asked. "We're… talking about us." He said hesitantly. "Excellent." Mr O'Neill beamed. "When we talk about "ourselves" we're talking about "us." Now, guys, I've got a little challenge for you. Today we talked about turning your daydreams into reality. Tonight, I want each one of you to go home and do just that. What do you say? Um... you." He stopped and pointed to Daria. "What's a daydream that you'd like to see come true?" Daria thought about it for a second. "I guess I'd like my whole family to do something together for once." "Exactly." Mr. O'Neill seemed genuinely happy. "Something that would really make them suffer." She continued. Mr O'Neill looked confused. "Well, it's normal to have these feelings, I think." He added the last part quietly. Jennifer Shaggy and Scarlet sniggered quietly. "Nice one." Jane whispered loudly. "Thanks." Daria replied.

Shaggy stood behind Scarlett and Jennifer as they entered Scarlett's apartment building. His nervousness from before was back, and worse. _He's not going to like me, I just know it, and any chanced I have of taking Scarlett out will be gone._ Shaggy's trepidation grew worse and worse as they approached the elevators. An old woman stumbled out when the doors opened. "Hello Scarlett." She said, and then peered at Jennifer and Shaggy. "And who are these?" "Hi Mrs Donaldson, these are my friends, Jennifer and Dewey." "What nice names, Have fun dear." Mrs Donaldson tottered of and they piled into the elevator. "Dewey?" Jennifer asked, holding back a snort. "I didn't want to subject you to the 3 hour lecture if I used a nickname; she thought I was lying when I said my name was Scarlett." Scarlett answered. "But, Dewey." "Shut up." Shaggy snapped. Scarlett stretched up and kissed his cheek. "Oh, we still love you."_ OH MY God! Did she just do that, what did that mean, does that mean she likes me, or does that means she just thinks of me as a friend? I'm confused. Crap, crap, crap, CRAP!"_ The elevator came to a complete stop and they got out. "My apartment is just here." Scarlett said, leading them to door 503.  
"DAD." She called out when they walked in. "I'm home; these are my friends, Jennifer and Shaggy." "I'll be out in a second, Make yourselves at home." Her father called from the other end of the hallway. Scarlett shrugged. "This is it, sit anywhere." Shaggy looked at the room carefully. There was a comfortable looking black sofa, an armchair and a fairly large T.V. situated to their left, a dining table and four chairs to their right and a small kitchen surrounded by a bench at the back of the room, next to the hallway door. The room was decorated with a mixture of replica medieval tapestries, a painting of the Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza, and bookcases filled with heavy tomes and interesting bits of paraphernalia. "Looks like Dad finished unpacking today." Scarlett said, settling onto the black sofa. Jennifer discretely shoved Shaggy in the back, causing him to stumble into the seat beside Scarlett, and then gracefully sat on the reed mat on the floor.

Scarlett's father walked into the room, towelling his damp red hair dry as he did so. He wore khaki pants and a white shirt and was barefoot. "So, you're my daughters new friends, I'm pleased to meet you, I'm Arthur Pendragon. "(1) Shaggy's draw dropped at this, Jennifer looked at him with confusion. "I don't get it, what's the joke?" She asked. Scarlett sighed. "Pendragon is King Arthur's last name. Dad's name used to be Arthur Collins, but at university he fell in love with an art major who had a particular love for the Arthurian legend, Dad changed his name so she would like him." She explained. Shaggy shook his head in admiration. "Did it work?" he asked. Arthur smiled. "Well we got married and had a beautiful daughter, so I suppose it did." His face fell for a second but then he smiled. "But I want to hear about you. Do you go to the same school as Scarlett?" He asked, looking at Shaggy. "Well, I'm In Scarlett's science class, I just started at school too, you see, my family moved here from Colorado…"

After Shaggy and Jennifer had left Arthur sat at the table across from Scarlett. "Well?" she asked. "Do my friends fit the bill; can I still call them friends?" Arthur smiled at his daughter. "They were both very nice, especially that young man, Shaggy was it? Yes he seemed _very_ interested in you." Scarlett opened her mouth in indignation. "DAD!" she yelled. "What did I say?" he asked grinning. "Shaggy is _just_ my friend." "Yes well, if he asks you out, yes you can go, but your curfew is still 11." "DAD!" Scarlett cried again. Arthur smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'll make dinner, watch some Sick, Sad World." He said walking into the small kitchen.  
"And now back to Sick, Sad World." Announced the T.V. It showed an image of a young reporter sitting with and old man with a walking stick. "This is just astounding! Here you are, blind, deaf, and barely able to walk, yet you conducted simultaneous affairs with _three_ members of the Royal Family! The question on all of America's mind is: how did you do it?" Scarlett screwed up her face in disgust "That's revolting, who would have an affair with the Royal Family?"

The next day Shaggy was loitering in the hall between periods. "Self Esteem is important because?" Asked a low gravelly voice from behind him. Shaggy turned to see Daria and Jane emerges from a classroom. "Because it's something popular people have, they want us to be more like Quinn." Daria said. "Come on Daria, be serious." Jane complained. "It's important because it makes us feel good?" Daria asked in a squeaky voice reminiscent of Brittney Taylors. Shaggy laughed. "Hey guys, what you doing?" He asked them. Daria turned around and stared at him unnervingly. "We're studying, we're gonna ask Mr O'Neill if we can test out of the Self Esteem class early." Jane said. "Can you even do that?" Shaggy asked. Jane shrugged. "No, but Mr O'Neil will agree with anything, did you see how that burnout chick got that redhead into the class?" "Yeah, that was smart." Shaggy admitted. _If I can get out of the class early, I could ask Scarlett to go somewhere with me. _The two girls began to walk away from him. "Umm, Would I be able to test out with you?" he asked. Jane turned back and handed him a piece of paper. "That's the answers, memorise them." She said, before leaving him alone in the hallway.

"You want anything to eat?" Jennifer asked Scarlett as they walked into the cafeteria. "No, food poisoning isn't the way I plan to die." Scarlet said seriously. Jennifer laughed. "Go sit with Chip, I want some 'meatloaf'. Jennifer strode of the lunch line. Scarlett made her way to the empty table where Chip was stretched out, her legs out in front of her, preventing anyone sitting at either bench, her arms clutching the table behind her possessively. "Hey Chip." Scarlett called, sitting at the opposite table. With a sigh of relief Chip sat upright. "Thanks Scar, I hate being the one to save tables, but look, here comes the gang." Scarlett turned to see Dawn, Angel and Bob walk through the cafeteria doors, followed by Connor and Kristen.  
After everyone had settled around the table begun to eat Dawn pulled down her headphones. "Where's Shaggy?" she asked, the others just shrugged and went back to what they were doing. Scarlett scanned the room, looking for her tall friend. She finally spotted him at the other end of the hall, sitting at a table with Daria and a tall girl wearing a red jacket and grey shorts. "Hey, Jennifer, isn't that girl in your self esteem class?" She asked, pointing to her. "Yeah, that's the girl I told you about, Jane." "What's Shaggy doing with them?" Scarlett wondered. "Don't know, but you can't be jealous if he hangs out with other people Scarlett, he's not yours." Kristen said, looking at Scarlett. Scarlett face turned as red as her hair with anger. "And what is THAT supposed to mean." She asked rudely. "He likes you and you know it." Connor stated. Scarlett stared at him in surprise. "you know he likes you, and you got used to having him looking at you, now he's not here you miss it, but he isn't yours and you can't expect him to spend all his time with you unless you start to spend time with him." Connor continued. Scarlett stared at him in shock, and then stood up. "Thanks." She said sullenly and walked off.

Shaggy sat at the front of the self esteem class for once, to the right of Daria and Jane. He was almost eager for the class to begin. Jennifer was the last student to enter the class and, to Shaggy's surprise, Scarlett wasn't with her. "Where's Scarlett, wasn't she gonna come to class with you today?" he asked Jen as she walked past. "Yeah, but she had a fight with Connor and Kristen, she's not talking to any of us. I think Dawn is trying to talk to her." Jennifer sat in her normal seat, which was across from where he sat now.  
While Mr O'Neil droned on with his lesson Shaggy went over the final test with Daria and Jane. In a spare moment he wrote a message for Jennifer on a piece of paper, then folded it into a plane and threw it to her. Jennifer read the note, frowned, wrote something then tossed it back. Shaggy unfolded the plane, it read

**What were they fighting about?**

You

Shaggy chocked in shock. Scarlet was fighting with their friends about him. Why?

"And tonight, I want you to make a list of at least 10 ways that the world would be a _sadder place _without you in it." Mr O'Neill droned. 'The Head' raised his hand. "Mr O'Neil! Mr' O'Neill." He called franticly. "Yes, um, you." Mr O'Neil pointed to the boy, "Um, would that be if we were never born, or if we, diedsuddenlyandunexpectedly?" he asked nervously "Never been born." Mr O'Neil confirmed, giving the boy a finger gun. The bell rang and the class began to leave.  
Shaggy, Jane and Daria approached Mr O'Neill's desk. "Hi! Did you need clarification on something we covered today?" he asked them politely. "We feel really good about ourselves." Jane said. "We want to take the graduation test." Daria added tonelessly. Mr O'Neill smiled. "Well! I'm glad your self-image meter is on the uptick! But there's still three more weeks of class left." "This first week has been a real eye opener." Jane told him. "Yeah, it must be the way you teach." Shaggy chimed in. "Oh, well, thank you very much." Mr O'Neil stuttered. "So, can we take the test?" Daria asked.  
"Well, it's not the way we usually do it, but... I guess so." He looked through his folder and pulled out the test. "Okay, question one: "Self-esteem is important because..." He asked. Daria rolled her eyes at Jane. "It's a quality that will stand us in good stead the rest of our lives." Daria answered. Mr O'Neil looked ecstatic. "Very good, now, the next time I feel bad about myself I should-" "Stand before the mirror, look myself in the eye and say, 'You are special. No one else is like you." Jane said, cutting him off mid sentence.  
"Excellent, you guys really have been paying attention. Okay, there's no such thing as-""As the right height, or the right weight, only what's right for me." Shaggy murmured. "Because that is who I am." The three chorused together. Mr O'Neill, who now looked like he was in heaven, put down the test. "I don't think we need to go any further, I'm really pleased, I think the _whole school_ needs to hear about this at assembly!" He said excitedly. Shaggy panicked, and took a step back. "Um, Sir, I don't think I would be able to do that, the thought of the whole school knowing that I previously had low self esteem issues, might make me feel bad about myself." He said hurriedly. "Mr O'Neill thought for a second. "Oh, I'm sorry, how inconsiderate of me, please, don't feel like you need to make a public spectacle of yourself." Shaggy walked from the room. "Damm, I was hoping to publicly humiliate my sister." Daria deadpanned. Shaggy smiled.

Arthur Pendragon answered the phone on its fourth ring. "Hello?" he asked. "Hi Mr Pendragon, this is Shaggy." The person o the other end said. "Shaggy, well, this is a surprise, I'll go get Scarlett." "No, actually, I wanted to talk to you." Arthur almost dropped the phone. "Really!" He said shocked. "Um, I wanted to know, um, would it be okay if…" The voice trailed off. "Yes?" Arthur prodded, though he thought he knew what Shaggy would ask. "If it would be okay, for me to, you know- ""Date my daughter." Arthur guessed, getting impatient with the nervous boy. From the sharp intake of breathe he heard he was correct. "It's fine with me, her curfew is eleven, if she's back any later I will never let you see her again and if you hurt her there won't be enough of you left for the police to find, goodnight." Arthur hung up the phone.  
Arthur knocked on Scarlett's door. "Honey?" He called. "GO AWAY." Scarlett cried. Worried, Arthur opened the door. At once he was struck by the general brownness of the room. The walls were a plain brown wood; the curtains were the colour of chocolate, the covers on the bed was the same colour as sand. The only colourful thing in the room was Scarlett, her hair covering her head as she pressed a pillow against her face. "Go away." She cried again, but less forcefully. Scarlett looked up at, her eyes were red and puffy, shiny lines streaked her pale face where tears had fallen. "Oh Scarlett." He said, sitting beside her and wrapping his long arms around her, she clung to him fiercely and pressed her face into his chest, sobbing. "What happened?" He asked. "It's Shaggy." Scarlett whispered. "What did that little punk do, I'll kill him, I'll-"Arthur started to rant, Scarlett cut him off. "Shaggy didn't do anything, _I've _been hurting him." Scarlett admitted. Arthur looked at his daughter in surprise, Shaggy hadn't sounded hurt on the phone.  
"How?" He asked. "Shaggy really likes me, and I think I sort of realised it, and I just sort of ignored him. But I liked knowing that he liked me." Scarlett tried to explain. "Oh Scarlett I'm s-""Let me finish." Scarlett commanded, cutting her father off. "When he didn't sit with us today, I was sort of upset. Kristen told me to stop being jealous because I didn't own him, and Connor told me I couldn't expect him to spend all his time with me and like me unless I was willing to spend time and like him back." Scarlett sighed. "I guess I'm being silly aren't I, But it wasn't till Connor said that that I realised I like Shaggy back, and I probably blew it." Arthur stroked his daughter's hair. "People surprise you sometimes, I'm sure thing will work out" He stood up and stretched. "Dad?" Scarlet said tentatively. "Yes?" "Thanks' for everything," Arthur smiled. "That's what dads are for." Scarlett snapped her fingers angrily. "Damm, and all along I thought it was to scare boys out of dating their daughters." She said. Arthur only smiled as he left the room.

Shaggy arrived at school early the next morning, before any of his friends. He was waiting besides Scarlett's locker when she arrived. She was as beautiful as ever, her straight red hair falling to he shoulders, her sliver ankh gleaming, her brown dress and black jacket looking as perfect on her as always.  
"Shaggy." She said in surprise. "Hi Scarlett." He said cheerfully. She took a deep breath, as if to calm herself, then she began to talk. "Look, I'm sorry I was so oblivious that I hurt your feelings, I'm just not used to people liking me, and I wasn't able to be sure how I felt about it, or you, and I didn't realise that what I was…" Scarlett's voice faded away when Shaggy stepped closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "Scarlett, just shut up." He said before kissing her. "I see what you're doing you arrogant _male_." Screamed Ms Barch when she walked around the corner and saw them, "Don't let him fool you, he might be all sweet now, but after twenty years he'll bang his secretary, and leave you with nothing but bitter memories." She screeched at Scarlett. Shaggy ignored her; to him there was nobody else in the world, except for Scarlet

THE END

DISCLAIMER: All characters in this story (except Arthur Pendragon) are from the show Daria and thus are the property of MTV

All of these characters can be seen on the "Backgrounders" site run by UU and The Angst Guy, all under the names used here, with the exception of Chip, who is called 'Chipmunk" and Connor, who is called "Sad Kid

(1) This is a reference to 'Scarlett', written by The Angst Guy, read this awesome story to understand why


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